


Sunrise

by nervouspunkboy



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Cowboytober 2020, Drabble, M/M, Mourning, New Austin, Post-Chapter 6: Beaver Hollow (Red Dead Redemption 2), Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:34:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27180494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nervouspunkboy/pseuds/nervouspunkboy
Summary: “Ain’t never seen a sunrise til you see a desert sunrise.” Arthur had said, a fond and longing smile on his face as he looked ahead of him.Kenneth couldn’t remember how that sunrise looked then, so focused on Arthur’s expression.“Would love to see one.” He’d sighed and Arthur looked at him, still smiling.“Well then let’s make sure we get there someday.”
Relationships: Arthur Morgan/Kenneth Shaw, Arthur Morgan/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> Cowboytober 2020 Day Two: Desert
> 
> Kenneth Shaw is my original character and I have a lot planned for him and these prompts felt like the best way to get him out there before I finish his full fic. 
> 
> This is a very sad drabble, Arthur has died and Kenneth is mourning.

Kenneth had never been further west than when he and Arthur had met. Making it past the Rockies had been a feat all it’s own but he had his determination to thank. Many people would call him stubborn and that suited him just fine. It got him where he wanted and needed. It got him here, in the middle of the desert past Armadillo.

He’d made it to New Austin. He’d never been this far before, never seen or felt the warm desert air on his face as he rode through the day, never seen such tall cacti before. He’d never seen a desert sunrise. Arthur had told him they were something to behold, possibly the most beautiful sunrises a man could see. He’d told him so as they sat on the edge of Horseshoe Overlook, feet dangling and watching the sunrise over the Dakota. God, how long and far away that felt from now. Sitting beside Arthur, both unable to sleep any longer but not too upset about it. Kenneth was always a morning person, used to it from the early work at home and from just purely enjoying it. He loved seeing the sun rise and change the sky, how the world changed in those early hours. 

“Ain’t never seen a sunrise til you see a desert sunrise.” Arthur had said, a fond and longing smile on his face as he looked ahead of him. 

Kenneth couldn’t remember how that sunrise looked then, so focused on Arthur’s expression. 

“Would love to see one.” He’d sighed and Arthur looked at him, still smiling. 

“Well then let’s make sure we get there someday.” 

And Kenneth had smiled, nearly breathless at _we_. He’d nodded and looked back out ahead of him, trying to hide the face splitting smile that wouldn’t leave. He’d been so confident then, that they would get out of the mess they were in. That they would get west. 

Arthur had been right of course, how beautiful desert sunrises were. In his little camp, his one person tent, campfire crackling softy, Kenneth saw one for the first time. It was so breathtaking. The dark sky started to turn purple and then a brilliant red and orange spread across the sky from the horizon out. The clouds looked lilac against it and he held his breath watching. It felt as if the sky reflected back the color of the land. It was just him and Eudora as they watched the sunrise, the most beautiful he’d ever seen before. He watched it, alone. 

Kenneth sniffled, overcome with it all and he could hear Arthur’s voice in his ear, that soft wonder he’d held for the wide open skies out west. And Kenneth sobbed into the quiet air, tears rolling down his cheeks as he watched the sun climb higher, break through the horizon and bring the morning. He wrapped his arms around his knees and he rocked, crying harder and harder, till he was almost choking. Kenneth clenched his eyes shut and covered his face with his hands, wiping his cheeks and trying to calm down. It was just a sunrise, there wasn’t any need to be like this. By the time he’d calmed down, the sun was almost completely over the Horizon.

He sniffed and wiped his cheeks one more time with his sleeve and stared blankly ahead. He’d been so confident that they would get here, that both of them would see this. Arthur had been so sure. His lip quivered and he shook his head. He needed to tear down his camp and get moving. But he just wanted to sleep a bit more, tired of it all. He didn’t care to see anymore, didn’t care what it looked like or how pretty it was. It hurt to look at. He crawled back into his tent, to get just a few more hours of sleep before they kept on.

He didn’t feel like such a morning person anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to hear more about Kenneth, you can find me screaming about him on tumblr @ little-bi-kingtrashmouth and twitter @ nervouspunkboy


End file.
